Before going to Singapore last October, I asked recommendations on where to eat from my blogger friend, Brad Lau of uber popular www.ladyironchef.com. For chili crab, he pointed me to Roland Restaurant, a name foreign to me. I’ve been to No Signboard and Jumbo, both popular for their crabs but never heard of Roland before. Upon further research, Roland Restaurant outs itself as serving the original chili crab, created by Mdm Cher Yam Tian.
I trusted Brad, so off we went in a taxi since its more convenient. You can also take a bus with the following numbers – 15, 31, 36, 43, 48, 76, 135, 196, 197 and 853. The taxi driver will drop you off at this parking structure , with the only indication of Roland being this lighted tarp. You need to go straight into the building and take the elevator to the 6th floor. Roland Restaurant occupies the whole floor.
We were not prepared for how big the place was, the picture does not show how big it is since most of the space was divided off.
A plate of complimentary stewed peanuts was laid on our table. It was one of the best ones we ever had, so good we asked for another plate.
We immediately ordered our staple, Crispy Baby Squid (S$12 or about P414). Ever since I had it at No Signboard, no seafood meal is complete without it. Each crispy little piece of squid is coated with a sweet delectable sauce that just has me getting more and more. It’s a little more saucy that the one from No Signboard but no less delicious.
We ordered a Roasted Chicken (half/S$18 or about P620) for Lauren knowing the food were not too her liking. Crispy skin and flavorful chicken meat had her eating in bliss.
Two bowls of tea with calamansi and shell crackers were placed on our table as a precursor to the arrival of the chili crabs, which really heightened our excitement.
The Singaporean Chili Crab arrived with all its crimson glory, bringing with it an ambrosial fragrance of spices. The sauce is thicker that what we were used to. A more thorough look yielded the reason, they had added crab roe in addition to the scrambled eggs into the sauce. We had requested them to temper the spiciness a bit but it was still spicy. Despite the spiciness we could not get enough of the crab, big, plump and oh so yummy.
Don’t forget to get an order or two of mantou/fried buns to sop up all those beautiful and delicious sauce. If we had lived in Singapore, we would surely have wrapped all the remaining sauce to bring home.
A side note is that I also recommended Roland to a friend of mine who was in Singapore also, they dined there and met one of the owners. He asked them how they found our about the place since only locals eat there, and she told them it was thru a blogger.
I’ll have to say that this is the BEST chili crab I’ve ever had. Roland Restaurant, might be off the tourist area and with only one branch, its not the most convenient place to eat at. Having had a taste of their chili crab, we have already added it to our never miss Singapore restaurant.
Roland Restaurant
Blk 89 #06-750 Marine Parade Central Singapore 440089 Telephone no.: (+65) 6440-8205Roland Restaurant on Facebook
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how much was the crab?
I can’t remember the price but it should be around SG$100